During the regular municipal session on Tuesday, June 2, the Santa Cruz Municipal Council members denied that construction projects have been halted or suspended in the canton, after the newspaper La Nacion published an article titled “Agony over Aquifer Stopped Construction in Santa Cruz.”
In the May 29th edition, this newspaper stated that because of water shortages experienced by the canton, five members of the council forbid granting construction guarantees as of the last week of May, according to statements provided by council member Maria Rosa Angulo.
Angulo specified that, “What the news says there is serious. When the journalist asked me about the problems with the aquifers, I told him that we were informing ourselves as a council in order to make decisions, but I never said that construction is prohibited. This is a situation that must be clarified.”
In light of the statements in the article, members of the Tamarindo Development Association, the Tamarindo Chamber of Commerce, realtors, lawyers and hotel operators were present in the council to demand that construction not be halted under any circumstances.
“This news seems to us to be a blow to the community of Tamarindo and to the canton. We are coming out of a crisis and are seeing the light, and this publication comes out that has international repercussions. We are not here to ask but to demand explanations and offer to work together. The development of Tamarindo benefits us all, and what Tamarindo means to Santa Cruz is no secret to anyone,” said Ismene Arroyo, legal representative of the Tamarido Development Association.
The representative of Tamarindo developers, Paul Oporta, stated that he received more than five calls over the weekend clients abroad who were in a panic that they wanted to put the brakes on several projects.
“We demand clarity with this type of information. You guys do not know the damage that this news caused for foreign investment. Foreign investment is very nervous. We know that there is a serious problem with water, but solutions can be sought,” Oporta added.
Oporta also offered financial support to the municipal council from the different Tamarindo businesses to work on water conservation projects.
In defense of the Municipality, Mayor Jorge Chavarria assured that he asked the director of La Nacion, Armando Gonzalez, for the right to respond to deny the information.
For her part, Vice Mayor Maria Rosa Lopez described this news as an opportunity for the canton to work on water conservation and the possibility of looking for solutions to protect both families as well as the hotel sector.
The council members took a break that lasted almost 20 minutes to look for a solution to the problem and agreed to ask the mayor to convene a press conference with a variety of communication media to deny the halting of development in the canton.
In addition, they asked him to demand a correction on the front page of the newspaper, just like the Santa Cruz article appeared.
“We are fully aware of the water problem and the social implications. We point out that no agreement was made by the council to impede, suspend or stop construction projects in the canton,” says the text of the signed agreement.
In addition, they took advantage of the visit of Tamarindo residents to form a commission that will follow up on the water shortage in the area.
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